Gray, Mike '62 - Football

Sometimes even a proven record of success is not enough to satisfy the critics. Mike Gray ‘62 understands the importance of setting personal goals and exceeding them, regardless of the expectations of others. He played First Football at Ridley and along with his teammates won the 1960 Little Big Four Championship. He went on to play varsity football at the University of Toronto, winning the Canadian College Bowl Championship in 1965. He recalls turning to his former U of T coaches for advice in the spring of 1966 once he’d been drafted by the Calgary Stampeders. How much should he request for a signing bonus, he wondered. “Mike,” the coach told him, “don’t bother asking for anything because you’re not going to make that team.” Well, that coach gave very bad advice. What followed was a successful CFL career, first with the Stampeders, followed by the Montreal Alouettes and the BC Lions.

With more than 700 students from 50+ countries, the largest boarding programme in Ontario and the third largest in Canada, Ridley College is a truly international, co-educational, day and boarding school of the world that prepares students for the world. It has provided enriching learning and life-shaping experiences focused on the arts, academics, and athletics since 1889. Ridley’s Lower School offers JK-Grade 8, its Upper School consists of Grade 9-PG, and Ridley graduates attend some of the top universities and colleges around the world. Ridley is the only independent boarding school in Canada and one of only three in North America authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum programme.